fishballer06

Kelly Jaye just caught two 3 pounders on one jerkbait. Hooked up, fish jumped, got it into the boat and had two fish on the bait.

I can't comment on the quality of the rods, but by just looking at the specs, I'd recommend the 7'6" Heavy model.

I'm in the 40-50lb. braid camp as well. I've tried going smaller diameter, but it's only lead to problems.

Lefebre is sitting in 54th place with 15lb. 8oz. on day one. I wouldn't call that a weak showing. I would say that the lake is fishing really well right now. 15.5 pounds is enough to put you on the top of the heap each day at most events!

Cliff Crochet sitting in 2nd currently (my D bucket pick)

You mean you don't know Jojo Bars...

Last fall a bottle of JJ's fell off a shelf in my basement, onto the concrete. My entire basement still wreaks...

Considering 31 guys currently have no fish, I'd say there's poor service.

Yep. I picked him the first event because he was a hometown guy and he did terrible. I thought he would have been one to perform better in a cold water environment because that's what we deal with up here half the year. Ever since he's been in the cut every time.

They're not good, they'rrreeeee greeeeaaattttttt!!!

Those stock hooks on the Heddon lures are very low quality. Replace them with some quality Gamakatsu/Owner/Mustad hooks.

If you're expecting to throw a 2oz. crankbait (like a 10xd) on a 9:1 reel, you're going to have a bad time...

You're not over thinking at all, but others may not understand that each individual crankbait swims a little bit differently. Even the same brand, same model, same color, each one can swim differently. I recently bought a dozen Baby 1 minus crankbaits for an upcoming trip to Canada. I upgraded the hooks on them and took them out and tested them at a local pond. Some of them swam straight as an arrow, some of them needed some tuning and were fine, some of them have that wiggle wart hunting action to them, and some of them just didn't swim well at all. I took a marker and wrote + or Hunt on the good one's, and the dud's got the stock hooks put back on them and thrown into my storage bin. If you find yourself fishing a lot of crankbaits, I suggest trying this method sometime and you will see exactly what I mean.

It may still be fine to fish, but that's not to say that it won't come off on the first nice fish you hook into. Leaving you to just reel in a plastic bill. Like John said, spend a few bucks and buy another one (and a backup )

I went with Lefebre. The local boy has been performing way beyond expectations all year long.

A swimbait rod rated "MH" is a totally different blank from a standard "MH" rated blank. If you are fishing around heavy brush, you're probably not going to want a super long 8' rod anyway. It will make casting around tree branches, brush, etc. a nightmare. If you want to reach out further, I suggest either buying a kayak/boat or investing in some waders so that you can at least get out off the bank a few feet.

I have the 2000 size. I'm curious what you're trying to find out. Daiwa lists the weight of all the different models directly on their website. http://www.daiwa.com/us/contents/reels/ballistic/index.html

That 734 will cover almost anything in bass fishing. I highly recommend that rod.

DT6 Shad Rap Wiggle Wart LC Flat CB DR

I made a topic on this a few months back that received a good bit of attention. Check out what St. Croix has released.

I think it honestly comes down to preference. I've seen some companies list their spinnerbait rod as a moderate-fast action. And then I've seen other companies have an extra-fast action for their spinnerbait rod. So you're on two totally different ends of the spectrum. So as a consumer, you're better off knowing what style of rod you like for certain presentations, and ignore what label a rod company slaps on a rod. So whether you want a jig rod or a spinnerbait rod, you're probably best to hold multiple rods and see what feels best for you.

@BostonMahhk I've had my Frabill F3 suit for 3-4 years now and it's held up great. I've fished in the pouring rain for full days and I've never had an issue. I had a 10 day trip to Canada where it rained 9 of those days and I never got wet at all. So perhaps you got a dud suit? I'd contact Frabill and see if they will take care of you. I believe their suits come with a 3 year warranty. As for the Huk gear, I bought the all weather suit this spring to give it a try because I've really liked all of the Huk gear I've bought the past few years. I've only worn it in a light mist so far, so I can't comment on how waterproof it is. It seems like a really nice suit. It's certainly a much thinner material than my F3 Frabill suit. This thinner material should make it more comfortable to wear during the warmer summer months.

Catching a bedding fish is difficult at times. It could be that the fish saw you and knew better to react to a lure vs a live bluegill in the area.